Puma footwear sales up for first time in seven quarters

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany Nov 7 (Reuters) - German sportswear
firm Puma said a new marketing campaign helped drive
its first increase in footwear sales in almost two years as it
increased its sales target for 2014, while paring its margin
forecast.

Puma, which has slipped further behind sportswear giants
Nike and Adidas in recent years, reported its
third-quarter net profit fell 45 percent to 29 million euros
($36 million) on sales up 3.7 percent to 843 million, slightly
shy of average analyst forecasts for 30 million.

Puma said footwear sales, which account for 44 percent of
the total, grew a currency-adjusted 2 percent, the first rise in
seven quarters, helped by the popularity of its evoSPEED soccer
boot, worn by several top players at the World Cup in Brazil.

Puma said it now expected a low single-digit increase in
2014 currency adjusted net sales, compared with a previous
forecast for flat sales, while it sees a stable gross profit
margin, compared to a previous target for a slight increase.